Three Times a Charm…. especially at Toro

Thanksgiving Eve.. apparently it’s the biggest party night of the year [it is cuz everyone returns home?] J and I decided to go eat, drink and be merry…. first thought? Well… I didn’t just suggest I basically screamed out TORO!!!! He hadn’t been, and I had been craving tapas, bone marrow & their orgasmic corn… Conclusion on choice? Perfection.

We headed out around 630ish and got there a little before 7… [hahaha stupid Boston roads.. it’s “great” to be back… so used to the City’s grid and easy taxi/train access…] We put our names down [they seriously should do reservations!!] and moooooosied over to the bar [like a foot away from where we put our names down]

First round of drinks:I got a Cabana Boy – Sailor Jerry spiced rum, Canton Ginger, Pineapple and J got a drink that sounded like man-something that had Maker’s Mark in it… and a cinnamon apple slice…

Second Round of drinks:
I got a Pink Poodle.. that had egg whites in it [haha] and J got another one of his man-drinks :D YES I had to pick the two girliest named drinks on the menu.. if not J was going to anyways….

Mandatory shot of the bread bowl…
Since J was making fun of me taking pictures of bread just a few hours earlier.. his punishment is to be in a picture WITH the bread…. bread has feelings too.. they just want to be loved, acknowledged for their carbiness… and eaten… hmmm.. hopefully he doesn’t kill me for posting this… anyways… we ended up switching tables… the high tables are fun and all but we wanted a nice roomy big table for just the two of us. We ended up getting a nice corner table that didn’t have us bumping elbows with neighbors. SCORE!

Pimientos del Padron Hot green peppers with sea salt

The staple of any tapas dinner, well for me.. I ALWAYS order these.. I think I mentioned that before the last time I was at Boqueria as well…

Cabeza Pork head terrine with spiced plums

I love head.

TEEHEE

Yeah, I’m REALLLLLL mature ;D

And while my favorite form of pig head still comes in a sandwich [love you Bobby.. love you Resto] this was really really good.. super tender [as expected] full of delicious porky flavor… and oh so satisfying…

AMAZING. Totally forgot there were escargots in the dish… so I’m eating it thinking.. why am I eating escargot?!?!?!.. this was soooo good.. but didn’t really need all the access… I’m chinese, I’m used to eating the pork belly as is ;D

The skin of the pig was so chewy/crisp that I bent my fork….

And as you can see.. new drinks… I got theCava CocktailGrapefruit bitters, sugar, yellow Chartruese

& J got the: crap, I totally forgot… was it something with tequila? It was definitely red tho…. and either way, they both weren’t too great :T

Lardo Cured lardo with honey and grapefruit

It’s funny because we only ordered one plate but we ended up getting served two plates :] YAY… one for each of us. YUM! Some people like it on nice crunchy toasted bread…. we ate ours as is ;D mmmmm piggie fat <3

Had no idea this was gonna be all bruschetta-ish but it was tasty.. the crouton/bread wasn’t too thick and there was TONS of foie… the chanterelles were slightly pickled but thankfully not overpowering…

Ventresca Tuna belly, tomato tapenade and celery leaves

I don’t like cooked tuna usually… unless it’s just plain out of the can [the water ones, NOT in oil, ew] but this was soooo tender… first time having tuna belly cooked…. perfect balance of sweet and acidity from the tomato… there was just ONE celery leaf tho… hahahah dont think it really made any different.. not even sure if I got it in my bite or J did…

Special of the Night A Goat/Pork sausage on a bed of couscous

As soon as we heard the specials… [there was also a goat stew that sounded promising] J jumped right at this. SOOO glad we got it, it was SOOO freaking good.. like I’ve said before.. people think it’s weird that I adore goat but don’t really eat lamb. To me lamb is FAR gamier.. but apparently it’s the other way around? Either way, this was FANTASTIC. Huge, juicy and full of meaty flavor. AMAZING spices… need more… if I could I’d make it my go-to BBQ sausage ;D

One of my favorite things to get here… uni sammy. SOOO creamy.. just the right amount of greasy bread.. [must be the miso butter] delicious GRAINY mustard seeds…. AHH the perfect balance of flavors and perfection. UNI UNI UNI <3 LOVES. Second favorite sandwich ever. [And yes, twice in one post, best is Bobby’s]

Atun Pincho Crudo Tuna tartare with charred green onion and pine nuts

MEHHH… it was OKAY… I think the turn off was that I found scales in my few bites :[ TOTALLY lameass… I tried, but couldn’t finish it…. which is sad cuz i love tuna tartare…

J and I guessed that there was definitely yuzu… lots of yuzu in it. But I love RAW oysters…. cooked are okay… but marinated and pickled?!?!?!.. not so much… too tart/sour for my taste… they were fresh but just not TOO much to my liking… sorry Toro… oyster fail

Morcilla Bocadillo Blood sausage, piquillo peppers and alioli

Can you name ANYTHING wrong with amazing blood sausage [the asian in me], amazing bread [<3] and amazzzzzing condiments <333 FUCKING amazing. Yes, profanity is a must. I never met a blood sausage I wasn’t i LOVE with….

Atun Crudo Yellowfin tuna with fermented black beans and ginger

To be honest… this was awkward… for ME & J… it was too chinese… black bean sauce?… tuna??…awkward…. ok honestly it was good, but in a way that I didn’t want to finish cuz it was so beyond awkward tasting…

J & I were MAD disappointed… we had HIGH expectations for the rabbit pate [you know me and how much I love bunny] but it was just okay.. good I guess, not amazing.. not memorable at ALL…. J finished it with bread, I gave up on it after 2 bites…

J and I were super excited about these melt in your mouth beefy goodnesses. I’ve had great short ribs and bad tough blah short ribs.. these were great… as were the yummy pearl onions :D I think it was atop mashed taters?!…. I also ended up eating allt he carrots too… wait, was there bacon? I don’t remember bacon….

Yes. I’m obsessed with brussels sprouts, especially when they’re all nice and burnt like above. To be honest usually I just steam them or do a quick garlicky light stirfry of them at home… but when I go out I like them nice, oily and roasted… :] Thankfully J loves brussels sprouts too… well thankfully and unthankfully… I had to split them, but I’m glad I didn’t go eat with someone who was picky about food or his greens :D

On a side note: Isn’t that the worst? I could NEVER date or be in a relationship with a picky eater…. or wasn’t adventurous…. blah. Thank goodness my friends are awesome.. and big foodies as well :]

For you non Spanish speaking people out there… and even still it’s pretty easy to guess, that says “the special of the house” aka HOUSE SPECIAL.. and oh boy is it.. you’d think this would be one of the first things to come out but this came out DEAD LAST… J and I were full… but after one bite we couldn’t stop eating. Yes, this tends to happen a lot…

And yes, we opted out of dessert… it’s becoming the new trend for me lately…

We ended up eating enough for 13 people… and then headed out stuffed beyond belief… in search of a bar. We ended up at “The Point” near Fanuiel Hall… super white bar.. HILARIOUS… stayed for some medicore vodka drinks and shots…. and left… frustrated that we weren’t trashed and just too disappointed to keep on going…. But still.. our stomachs were happy. Ken Oringer how do you do it? First time was great, second time even better.. and now this? Three times is definitely a charm….

J and I decided our Thanksgiving Eve tradition from now on is to go eat somewhere fabulous and then go to ghetto hick white Irish bars afterwards. Can’t wait til next year :D